Regarding IAL - Indian Almond Leaf

[Roxy]

I bought 50x Indian Almond Leaf tea bags from Amy Lim about 1.5 weeks ago.

What I noticed so far ( after one day of use ):
- He is more active!
- Biggest bubble nest I've seen so far!

I do however, have a question regarding the ' tea cup ' method.

Method #5: Tea Cup Method

In this method, you will make Indian Almond Tea using either Indian Almond Teabags or simply using the leaves directly.

If you use Teabags, make sure that the bags are hygenically produced with water insoluble material. You may buy such teabags on Ebay. Most teabags contain only one to one and a half leaf.

Put the teabag or a large leaf crumpled up into a cup, and add hot water. Leave it to cool. The water in the cup will have the appearance of strong tea by the time the water cools. Add what you need into the tank, and keep the rest (together with the leaf or the teabag) in the refrigerator.

By doing that method, would the benefits of IAL be less effective?

Thanks guys!

[Banicks]

Well presumably the tea bag contains a smaller amount of crushed leaf, and you are only placing a diluted amount into the water. The effects, in theory, would be diminished when comparing with a full leaf left in the tank.

With that said, the process could actually cause a refinement of concentrated tannins. Adding this to the water in one go would perhaps cause a greater effect compared to the standard IAL leaf slowly releasing tannins over time then decomposing.

I’m leaning towards the latter in my opinion. Presumably a greater concentration of tannin may be required in stressful situations where a high dose is required urgently, or we could just be blowing smoke into another method.

At the end of the day, don’t mess with something that isn’t broken!

[Bombalurina]

I used a similar method (boiling the leaves, then reducing the water) and it seemed just as effective, although my fish prefer having the leave to play around with as well/instead. :)

[Roxy]

Alrighty - thanks for the answer guys :)

[nel3]

i dont boil the IAL tea bags. i just put them in 24c water and leave them in the 1g milk jug for a few days. the water PH goes to 6.6 after a while, not sure if the tannins are weaker. the bag can stay in the jug for 2-4 weeks and only tossed out when the current water in the jug is used.